I have had the good fortune to work for several amazing companies over the course of my 25+ year career (so far).  I have also had jobs that stunk.  Berkshire Grey is solidly on the list of amazing companies, and the reason is simple.  It is the people.

Everyday I get to work with a group of incredibly smart and thoughtful people who challenge and respect each other.  We work on hard problems and use cool technology to solve those problems for enthusiastic customers.

I’m just the marketing guy, but a long time ago I could call myself an engineer.  So, I very much appreciate technology and pragmatic problem solving. What makes Berkshire Grey a great place to work is a lot more than that.  It is the way people here talk to each other.  It is the way teams hash out ideas and land on brilliant solutions – from big things like full mobile robotic systems that process hundreds-of-thousands of items per day for major retailers to little details like the optimal placement of a mounting flange that enables the quickest maintenance swap for a small component.  I see something new every day that is brilliant, and more importantly, every day I experience great interactions with brilliant people.

Unless you work at a place like Berkshire Grey, you can’t appreciate how refreshing it is to work with really smart people who genuinely like what they do, who work well together, and who care about customers and each other.  On top of that, the A-hole quotient is pretty much zero.  I’ve had jobs that were not a lot of fun.  The people were mostly average, the products were boring, and the whole experience revolved around a dysfunctional team just going through the motions every day.  Berkshire Grey is soooo not that place.

Make no mistake, people work hard here – really hard.  But, they do it because they care about what we are doing.  No job is too small, and everyone is focused on delivering success for customers.  Real satisfaction comes from seeing the results of your hard work payoff with incredible technology that customers love because it is truly innovative and it works.

Oh, and there is one more thing – for me anyway.  I completely own career day at my kids’ school.  I get to show videos of robots and talk about boring stuff, (to most 13 year-olds) like the software developers, engineers, and robotics experts I work with, in a way that the kids get totally excited about.  I love that.

Berkshire Grey is special.  There is no denying that the technology is remarkable. But, it is the people who make it amazing.  If you worked here, you would understand.

Pete Blair

P.S. For the record, I officially left engineering and operations to go over to the ‘dark side’ full time in 2004. That said, I’m happy to report Berkshire Grey engineers told me recently that one of my solution ideas “actually isn’t that terrible” – high praise for a marketing guy from this team.